Working in the Backyard and Building a Costco Storage Shed

Working in the backyard and building a Costco storage shed provided us storage space and also privacy from the property behind our cottage.

STORAGE SHED FOUNDATION

The storage shed kit from Costco was delivered! And Nate got to work on setting up the foundation he would build the shed on.

storage shed in backyard being delivered

He dug six square holes about a half foot deep in our backyard where the shed was to be placed. For some reason, he initially planned to dig about two feet deep. That would have ended up becoming a much harder task.

He also built six square wooden boxes (16×16) on his own (not from the kit) to place in those six holes. This would create a sturdy foundation for the actual storage shed. He would pour concrete in them after they were leveled out with gravel. Then he leveled out the wet concrete that was poured so it maintained a flat surface.

creating foundation for storage shed in backyard

Cement footers were placed on top of the concrete that had dried. Then he placed wooden beams on top of those footers. This whole combination was Nate’s diy method to set the foundation for the shed kit. He then placed a wooden foundation like frame on top of those wooden beams. The materials all of course came with the shed kit. The boards going across the wooden frame were 16 inches apart.

Nate worked with a friend and also applied some strong caulk to hold the wooden frame to the cement footers below it. Then they placed the flooring on top of the wooden frame. It honestly just reminded me of the plywood flooring in our cottage under renovations.

placed flooring for storage shed in backyard

STORAGE SHED WALLS

They made a bit of a mistake with spacing out the wooden studs as they were building the walls of the storage shed. Especially because of where the windows would be placed. If you are also putting together a shed kit, make sure to account for window placement before finalizing the siding for the wood frame.

installing walls for storage shed in backyard

Then the actual walls were placed on the back and front of the shed with the proper sized rectangle cut outs for the windows. And finally the sides of the wall were also assembled.

STORAGE SHED ROOF

They assembled the wooden roof trusses next. Then they would apply the plywood roofing sheets on top of them and on the sides (which was in the shape of a triangle similar to what a gable looks like).

installing trusses for storage shed in backyard

Nate added flex tape at the peak of the roof where the plywood was placed to seal it. Then he applied felt paper to the entire roof and would work on the drip edge next. Finally, he began installing the roof shingles. He liked the dark gray color better than the red shingles we have on our cottage roof. I actually prefer the red shingles as it makes it unique and gives it a bit of a classic storybook look.

man working on building storage shed in backyard

Once he got to the peak of the roof, he had to figure out the best way to install the shingles from a steep pitch and angle. It ended up becoming a bit of a challenge. I suggested he could work on the peak by straddling it. He had to work in some awkward and unnatural positions. I’m sure it was difficult, but he pushed through even in the hot sun. Luckily, it was December and a bit cooler.

man installing roof shingles on storage shed in backyard

OTHER ACCESSORIES AROUND THE STORAGE SHED

The front shed double doors opened up like French doors and it turned out so nice. Then the windows being installed really made it feel like a little cottage. Or rather like our little pine cottage had a baby!

Then the storage shed was prepped for painting and finally the trim was installed. We matched the paint colors with our cottage for consistency.

man adding trim on storage shed in backyard

INSIDE THE STORAGE SHED

The last step was to prime and paint the inside of the shed floor to cover up the cheap looking plywood flooring. And then Nate also built wooden shelves inside the shed so that we could organize things in there more conveniently.

man building shelves inside of storage shed

We also later learned that if you use caulk, it has to be paintable caulk because even if you use oil based paint over it, it may still peel up. That’s what happened to us. The caulk Nate used on the plywood flooring ended up peeling up. It was a lesson learned in a shed before we made the same mistake in our cottage renovations.

As I inspected the work done on the shed, it just reminded me of a tiny house. I also started to map out where I wanted my garden section in the shed to be – right in the corner by the south and west facing windows. I was thinking a table could be placed underneath those windows for all my garden stuff.

Yea~ so that actually didn’t happen because Nate ended up using the whole shed to store all of our house stuffs instead!

Materials & Tools We Used

Shovel: Nate used a shovel to dig six squares for the foundation of the shed.
Hammer: A hammer comes in handy for many tasks when building a storage shed.
Nail Gun: This tool was used to secure the foundation, walls, and other areas of the shed.
Cordless Drill: This tool was used for many tasks when building a storage shed.
Paint Roller: This was used to add the final primer and painting touches to the shed.

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installing trusses for storage shed in backyard and storage shed in backyard with garden

CHECK OUT OUR VIDEOS

Thanks for joining us on this journey! We hope that you will find inspiration watching us learn as we go while we’re attempting to renovate and rebuild this old small historic cottage mostly on our own~ while working full time jobs! Stay tuned for more progress updates ahead. Read more about us here.

You can also watch a video about this here.